Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Stop #2: Colombo, Sri Lanka

More pictures have been posted, along with a short clip of me crossing the street earlier today. This is a definite risk and exercise in patience and nerves. Check my Wayfaring Map for where I've been so far and my present location.

Waking up this morning I checked online for what the weather was going to be doing in my first day in Colombo. Lots of sidewalking was on the menu, running between several meetings in the main central business district so I was wondering what I was in for. In keeping with my Google Maps theme I checked out the Weather Underground mashup that conveniently has a weather station right near my hotel (See: Cinnamon Garden). It read 81F first thing this morning and now at 5pm in the afternoon it's cooling off to 91F -- Yes, hot! Let's just say that Colombo has been a bit of an adjustment after the pleasant, peaceful Melbourne that I just came from. Colombo is busy, noisy, smelly and active... all things I can deal with, but just takes some adjusting to. I'm sure I could do it much easier by heading to one of the beaches that this place is known for, but I just don't have the time.

Here are some other Google Maps tidbits I've dug up related to the country and city I'm currently in:

Geonames.org: Sri Lanka - Contains a map of place names and "geo" spots in Sri LankaSri Lanka World Heritage Sites - Takes a bit of panning and zooming. Take a look at the UNESCO World Heritage sites that have been designated in Sri LankaColombo Airport - I've used Tagzania to tag the first Sri Lankan location on this Google Map DIY site! I was hoping to tag a few more spots around the city but I'm told there are very few "landmarks" to take in.

I've also picked up a few postcards today - one of which will be sent to Henry's "Postmap" to kickstart his cool Google Maps idea! :)

Stay tuned for more pictures and updates. I'll be changing cities yet again tomorrow night.